THE ENGLISH CRICKETERS

NZ Truth, Issue 998, 10 January 1925, Page 6

THE ENGLISH CRICKETERS

A Woman's View

Where Douglas Scores Heaviest.

Brisbane Truth's lady writer enlarged her experience when the English cricketers played m Brisbane, and her readers have benefited to the following 1 extent

Cricket is probably an interesting 1 game. We certainly liked the look of the white clad men on the green oval, but what, is it all about, asks a mere woman? A couple of men post themselves before wickets, a lot of men gather around, and then someone gives a run and a ball is fired at the batsman. He, poor thing,, rememberingthe crowds watching him, and the glory of his country, makes a terrific swipe with the bat and misses.

Someone m the grandstand sighs. Immediately the sigh is taken up and goes all around. The batsman takes a firm grip of his bat and makes another swipe. This time he hits. Everyone cheers and a male, unable to restrain his enthu-

siasm, yaps "Blanky good man that!" After the ball has been thrown backwards and forwards a few times, and the batsmen have run up and down, and the men on the outside have chased the ball with long, clean strides, the bowlers change over. Then they start on the same old thing. If you hit the ball a long way you get clapped, hut if you don't everyone just looks.

NICEST FIGURES ON PARADE.

It must be a very easy game. Now and again, all the nice men m white trousers and. shirts give up the game and lie on the grass, while the spectators eat life-savers and eskimo pie. The men who have the nicest figures walk around the green for the edification of observant females. After a little while a couple of other men appear from underneath the grandstand and make for the green. The spectators clap, again. Another performance is started. .

People seem to get very excited about Kippax. Well, we don't know anything about cricket, but there is- no reason why we shouldn't be excited also. He seems a good-looking chap at a distance. Of course you never can tell at close quarters, but on the strength of our observations we clapped him. In fact, we think there should be more nice looking men m sport, it encourages women to attend and softens the atmosphere.

We were very interested m Douglas's hair. It looked very black, and his "face and arms were nicely tanned by the tropic sun" as they say m the novels. We remarked to a male that we thought him quite a decent looking chap. "Yes," said he, "you wouldn't think he was nearly fifty would you?" Now that is what we call cattishness. Anyhow many a Brisbane society dame would like to have his black locks on her own dome.

We believe there was a Cambridge boy amongst the crowd. S,adly enough we couldn't pick him out." They all looked alike to us, except for Chapman who has the regulation English feet and a nice long form. (You did pick him, Anna, but didn't know it. — Ed.)

ATTRACTIVE LARRIKINS,

It is said that two of the cricket visitors from England are attractive larrikins-^the sort that appeals to .everyone. It's a wonder they don't all kick over the traces. It must be awful to 's£aiid for hours under the blazing sun, blazing away at a blazing ball, while the other chaps are trying to bowl you to blazes.

Anyhow, even if we are ignorant we seemed to know as much as any oth^r woman there.. They were mostly yawning 1 , and secretly wondering: when it would be all over. The right place to meet the dear cricketers is m an hotel lounge. It's such a bore having to sit up m the grandstand, and get excited at intervals when someone claps.

dxenham seemed to enjoy walking across the -oval. -He flung out his manly chest, and did a few exercises with his arms. Then after swinging the bat a few times he got into place wearing an expression of "bring on your cats." \ ■■ That's about all we can remember, except for the nice, plump- bowler who gave a hop, skip, and a jump every time he threw a ball.